Comparing the Book and Movie: The Help Essay

The Help

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a novel about coloured women working for white families in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. It follows the lives of Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, who are both maids, and Eugenia Skeeter Phelan, a white woman in her twenties. It is the story of Skeeter writing a book about experiences the women have had working as maids.

In the book Aibileen is in her car and hears the song The Times They are A-Changin, by Bob Dylan. This song wasnt written until 1964, after the time frame of the novel, but it is very relevant to civil rights movement theme. The verse Come writers and critics/ Who prophesize with your pen/ And keep your eyes wide/ The chance wont come again/ And dont speak too soon/ For the wheels still in spin/ And theres no tellin who that its namin/ For the loser now will be later to win/ For the times they are a-changin. These lines relate greatly to the story because Skeeter is a writer, documenting stories of the maids. They knew that it was dangerous writing and publishing a book with such a controversial topic, because they didnt know what could happen to them. But even though Skeeter is socially excluded when shes writing the book, she wins in the end by moving to New York because of the success of the book. I think the author chose to include this song in the novel because it is a revolutionary song for the time.

In the movie version of the book, Jackson, sang by Johnny Cash and June Carter, is used in the soundtrack. Jackson, Mississippi is the setting of the novel, which is very influential to the theme and plot line. Jackson being a southern state during the early 1960s creates the premise of the civil rights movements involved in the story. The song is about a married couple thats fire has gone out. They both want to move to Jackson because they think theyll be more accepted than the other. The main alikeness of the song and the book is the setting, however the couple in the song want to go to Jackson, while the main characters in the book ultimately wish to leave. If the story hadnt taken place in Jackson, the oppression of the coloured people wouldnt have been so prominent; yes, it was a problem in the northern states too, but not as much in the south, especially Jackson.

The poem Whos Really The Victim? by Shamar Harriott is about a woman who has been domestically abused. Minny s husband is an alcohol who abuses her; Minny tries to hide her pain from most people in her life, but Aibileen can always tell. In the poem it says, one day you too shall be raped! which means to me that one-day the man will be sorry for how he acted. Her husband is fired from his job because his wife is involved with the book, so he gets very upset with Minny, and beats her very harshly; the only reason she stays alive is because she locks herself in the bathroom. The poem says, its a pity that you continued to try, but I refused to die, so instead of asking why, I prayed for you and demanded back my life! Minny leaves her husband with her children so they can be safe. Since he now has no job he is the one who has been raped, his dignity was taken when his family left him. But somehow you didnt win this one, somehow you lost the race, and the guilt you claim to never feel hits you everyday in the face. By abusing his wife he lost everything, which is the theme of the poem.

The Help is an inspiring book about overcoming racial boundaries and prejudices. It helps us to try to understand this time in history (although it is written by an American Caucasian). The story has engaging characters and a gripping plot. Minny is strong, the civil rights movement is a dominant theme of the book, and Jackson, Mississippi makes all of this possible.